Member-only story
The End of Military Exemption for Israel Ultraorthodox Jews
Israeli Supreme Court made a ruling on June 25 that Israeli Orthodox Jews must now take part in the Israeli military defence force because it is discriminatory for ultraorthodox Jews not to take part in military actions when it comes to defending the state of Israel.
This also could mean that the ultraorthodox Jewish communities in Israel may also see the end of the exemption and have to pay taxes like the majority of the population of Israel due to the lifting of exemptions, giving to ultraorthodox Jews to maintain and promote the Jewish faith.
Due to the lack of burdens of joining the military, paying high taxes and having the ability to focus on religious pursuits, the ultraorthodox Jewish community has been able to have a much larger population than the average Israeli.
The world’s only Jewish state, which is also a secular state, is quite an achievement that Israel has managed to maintain a population of around 2.9 fertility rate.
This is true even for women in Israel who live in cities and highly urbanised areas and maintain a high birth rate.
This happened for three reasons.
Reason number one, Israel, since 1948, has lived in a state of conflict either internally or externally against surrounding Arab states.
